Sci-Fi/Fantasy - A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin #1

Andie · 07-27-2010, 12:30 AM

A Song of Ice and Fire

A Song of Ice and Fire follows three principal storylines, divided by geography and participants.

The first storyline, set in the Seven Kingdoms themselves, chronicles a many-sided struggle for the Iron Throne that develops after King Robert's death. The throne is claimed by his son Joffrey, supported by his mother's powerful family, House Lannister. However, Lord Eddard Stark, King Robert's Hand, finds out Robert's children are illegitimate, and that the throne should therefore fall to Robert's unpopular eldest brother, Stannis. Robert's charismatic and popular youngest brother, Renly, also places a claim, openly disregarding the order of precedence, with the support of the powerful House Tyrell. While the claimants battle for the Iron Throne, Robb Stark, Lord Eddard Stark's heir, is proclaimed King in the North as the northmen and their allies in the Riverlands seek to return to self-rule. Likewise, Balon Greyjoy also (re-)claims the ancient throne of his own region, the Iron Islands, with an eye toward independence. This so-called War of the Five Kings is the principal storyline of the first four novels; indeed, the fourth novel primarily concerns Westeros's recovery from it in the face of the coming winter and the political machinations of those seeking to gain in its aftermath.

The second storyline is set on the extreme northern border of Westeros. Here, many thousands of years ago, a huge wall of ice and gravel was constructed by both magic and labor to defend Westeros from the threat of The Others, a race of now-mythical creatures living in the uttermost north. This Wall, 300 miles (480 km) long and 700 feet (210 m) tall, is defended and maintained by the Sworn Brotherhood of the Night's Watch, whose duty is to guard the kingdom against the Others. By the time of the novels, the Others have not been seen in over 8,000 years, and the Night's Watch has devolved into essentially a penal colony: it is badly under-strength, manned primarily by criminals and refugees with only a few knights or men of honor to stiffen them, and spends most of its time dealing with the human "wildlings" or "free folk" who live beyond the Wall. This storyline is told primarily through the eyes of Jon Snow, bastard son of Eddard Stark, as he rises through the ranks of the Watch, learns the true nature of the threat from the north, and prepares to defend the realm even though the people of Westeros are too busy warring to send support. By the end of the third volume, this storyline is somewhat entangled with the civil war to the south.

The third storyline is set on the huge eastern continent of Essos, across the narrow sea, and follows the adventures of Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen and another claimant to the Iron Throne. Daenerys's adventures showcase her growing ability as she rises from a pauper sold into a dynastic marriage to a barbarian warlord to a powerful and canny ruler in her own right. Her rise is aided by the birth of three dragons, creatures thought long extinct, from fossilized eggs given to her as wedding gifts. Because her family standard is the dragon, these creatures are of symbolic value before they have grown big enough to be of tactical use. Though her story is separated from the others by many thousands of miles, her stated goal is to reclaim the Iron Throne.

Books in the series

A Game of Thrones (1996)
A Clash of Kings (1998)
A Storm of Swords (2000)
A Feast for Crows (2005)
A Dance with Dragons (2011)
The Winds of Winter (2019)
A Dream of Spring

Other books set in Westeros
The Hedge Knight (1998)
The Sworn Sword (2003)
The Mystery Knight (2010)
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2015)

And novellas
Blood of the Dragon (1996)
Path of the Dragon (2000)
Arms of the Kraken (2002)

Prequels based on house Targaryen
The Princess and the Queen (2013)
The Rogue Prince, or, the King's Brother (2014)
The Sons of the Dragon (2017)

Nad · 07-27-2010, 10:44 AM

Thanks for the thread, Andie

The description sounds like interesting, I'll add the first book to my read list.

Did you read any of the books already?

Andie · 07-30-2010, 07:52 AM

No, but I bought the first one in the series

Just need to get around to read it

Chrissy · 07-30-2010, 08:05 AM

Sounds good.

AlexEvans · 07-30-2010, 02:31 PM

They're good books. They can get rather intense and grim, be warned. And enjoy!

*wishes Dances with Dragons would arrive*

IslandBeachBum · 03-04-2011, 12:57 AM

I only read the books for the first time around Christmas, and I couldn't put them down. It's rare for me to find books that surprise me, and these did that in a few places.

Per Martin's post yesterday, A Dance with Dragons will be coming out July 12th.

Nad · 03-04-2011, 02:28 AM

The first book in on my 'to read' stack, I hope to get around to it soonish.

IslandBeachBum · 03-04-2011, 12:03 PM

I have quite a 'to read' stack too. Glad I'm not the only one.

Nad · 03-05-2011, 10:34 AM

Oh, you're certainly not the only one with a huge 'to read' stack

What is your favourite thing about this series?

IslandBeachBum · 03-06-2011, 01:12 PM

I'm not sure I have just one.

If I had to pick, I'd say it's because the series surprises me, that it's unpredictable. Not that you can't see some things coming, but for the most part, there are so many things that shocked me the first time I read through the books. I don't find a lot of books that do that, and I really love and appreciate when they do.

Other than that, I think Martin does a wonderful job with making the story easy to read and accessible while keeping the plot so complex, and I love that his characters are never one-dimensional.

You said above you haven't read them yet? They are wonderful. I bought the first one off eBay, and by halfway though, I ordered the other three off Amazon, and I finished up days before the books arrived. It was so hard to wait.

I'm lucky the fifth book is coming out so soon after I started the series, so the wait hasn't been as long for me as a lot of other fans, but there are still two books left to be written, so I'm sure it will get to me (though I am used to waiting, as I've been faithfully waiting for the third book of Melanie Rawn's Exiles series since 2001).

TheAngel · 03-10-2011, 06:50 AM

I've read most of the first one but because of college I had to put it down and just never picked it back up. Now, I've finally unpacked all my books again after moving (it's a long, complicated story and involves most of my books being packed in my parent's garage for two years

). I'm hoping to get started again on this series sometime soon.

Stay to the Lights · 04-22-2011, 07:29 AM

So, these are the books that's Games of Throne is based upon. They seem complicated.. usually it probably wouldn't be my thing.. but I should at least try it

Lutesse · 08-02-2014, 03:31 PM

Is it possible there would be interest in re-starting this thread?

As the HBO series, A Game of Thrones, has continued now through 4 seasons, it diverges ever further from the source material: the (5) books that so far make up A Song of Ice and Fire.

I read all 5 in the space of 2 weeks in the Spring pf 2013; and am currently re-reading books 4 & 5 together as they follow the same timeline.
However, I've never been comfortable discussing the books at the Game of Thrones forum.

Could we have a show of hands as to who has read the books or plans to? I wouldn't mind doing a re-read from page 1 if others want to get started.

As great as the HBO series is, it can't hold a candle to the richness of the books.

Avatar · 08-31-2014, 11:54 AM

We could certainly try, though I haven't read the books even if I have the first two. As someone who found the show pretty 'meh', I'm not sure I'd like the books, but I might give them a read sometime.

Lutesse · 08-31-2014, 04:51 PM

I like the HBO series well enough but it can't compare to the books, Dan.

I'd have liked to do a re-read here but there's clearly no interest. It was just a thought.

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